Sandy Hook and Raritan Bay - Striped Bass Fishing

Sandy Hook and Raritan Bay are sections of the New York Bight that are far enough
away from major commercial ship traffic to keep striped bass from being spooked by ships.

These waters are fed from the Hudson River, the Raritan River, the Navesink River and
the Shrewsbury River. The Hudson River supports the second-largest striped bass spawning activity after
the Chesapeake Bay. Some stripers also spawn in the smaller rivers. Fingerlings from the Navesink River
were stocked in San Francisco Bay in 1879 to initiate the California striped-bass fishery there.

View While Surf Fishing at Sandy Hook at Dusk

Surf Fishing at Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook is a favorite of many striped-bass surf fishermen. It has nice sandy beaches,
and you can fish the ocean side or the calmer water's bay side. You can also fish right off the end of the hook,
but you have to walk a ways to do that.

Raritan Bay and the adjacent waters also provide excellent boat fishing for stripers.
Good spots include Romer Shoal, Flynns Knoll and Raritan Reach.

Adult bunker move into the bays in the spring with both striped bass and bluefish chasing them.

In the fall, baitfish which were incubating in the surrounding estuaries move through
the bays along Sandy Hook and out into the ocean, where the striped bass intercept them on their fall migration.

The ocean just south of sandy hook along the northern NJ beaches also provide good
striped bass fishing, as schools of bunker are often found in these waters.